


Taking Flight

by Braincoins



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Baby Alfor (son), F/M, Fluff, Prince-Consort Shiro, Queen Allura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 09:52:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Braincoins/pseuds/Braincoins
Summary: Allura, Shiro, and their young son are on the run... but from what? Shiro's clearly got a plan.





	Taking Flight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pixie_rings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixie_rings/gifts).



> Happy (Belated) Birthday, Pix! I'm sorry this is late. I'm going to blame traveling and my own hole-y brain. v__v You deserve better than this but I hope this is enjoyable at least.  
> =========

            Allura didn’t look behind her until they were well clear, and even then, checked only for pursuit. She heaved a sigh of relief when there was none in sight and raised a hand to the hood of her cloak.

            Takashi’s hand – his prosthetic – pulled her hand away from the hood. “Not yet. We’re still in range of the scopes. I don’t think they’ve noticed us missing yet, but let’s wait until we’re there.”

            She grinned at him. “I still don’t know where ‘there’ is,” she argued.

            “Don’t worry, I do. We should be close to the transportation I arranged…” He looked around and then set off, using his left hand to bounce Alfor in the harness on his chest. The boy giggled happily and Takashi paused to lean down and blow a raspberry into the soft curls, some white as Earth’s moon and some dark as a moonless night. Alfor shrieked in joy.

            Allura squeezed Takashi’s other hand, the one she was holding, as she hurried along with him. “How long until you think they _do_ notice?”

            “A varga, at most. More likely half that. But that’s when phase two of my plan swings into action. Don’t worry; Lance is keeping an eye on them.”

            “I should have known,” she scoffed. “Let me guess: Keith arranged our ‘transportation,’ Pidge is waiting to scramble their attempts to find our locator beacons, and Hunk is going to arrange for some sort of convenient vehicle malfunction when they try to come after us?”

            Takashi laughed as he pulled her along the streets of Novaltea (an Earth city now, not a planet of its own). He didn’t answer that, but his silence (other than the laughter) spoke volumes.

            They were both cloaked; fortunately, hooded cloaks were in fashion at the moment, or they might have drawn attention. As it was, the main worry was Alfor. His hair was …distinctive, to say the least, and he’d fussed so much when they’d tried to put a hat on him that they’d given up on it for the sake of being able to slip quietly out of the castle.

            Takashi kept them to side streets as much as possible, keeping a sharp eye out for police patrols. Finally, he turned down an alley and approached something covered by a tarp. With a flourish, he pulled the tarp away to reveal a hoverbike. It was a new model, sleek and black, and Takashi checked the small cargo compartment quickly before nodding and swinging a leg over. “Come on.”

            Allura mounted up behind him, reaching her arms around him to hold on (after giving Alfor a quick tickle). The hoverbike roared up into life and away from the pavement. Takashi kept it low though, zipping through hover lanes like an obedient motorist.

            “We could just go _over_ the rest of the city,” Allura said into his ear.

            “Not yet,” he said, speaking a little louder to be heard over the rush of wind.

            He obeyed speed limits and traffic laws until they reached the outskirts, then threw both to the wind – almost literally. He let the bike rise up into the late spring skies and pushed the engine to hurry them away from Novaltea.

            Allura looked back as her hood was blown off. Both city and castle were vanishing behind them rapidly, and when she peered around Takashi to look ahead, she saw wide fields stretching out before them like an ocean of green with tides of various-colored wildflowers.

            She lost track of time on the bike, basking in the sun on her face, the wind whipping her hair, and having her beloved in her arms. She felt _free_ for the first time in ages, a jailbreak from responsibilities and duties. No ambassadors to sweet-talk, no Coran to argue with, no having to stay politely distant from the man she loved since they were outside the confines of their private quarters. She snuggled in against his back and watched the grassy hills roll past.

            Takashi swung them west and the bike followed the arc of a hill, up and over until she could see a river winding its way through the landscape, the sun sparkling on the water that bubbled over rocks and around the occasional tree roots.

            She patted Takashi’s shoulder and pointed out a particularly nice-seeming spot: a tree near the river, sun-dappled yet shady. He nodded and headed for it, bringing the bike down next to the riverbank. She smiled in approval; the hoverbike would act as a barrier between their inquisitive son and the rushing water. _He thinks of everything._

            He let her dismount first, and she wasn’t surprised that Alfor started squirming almost immediately. She came over and fished him out of the harness to let him toddle around. His walking was usually pretty good, but he still had the occasional stumble, so she followed him around while Takashi did… whatever it was he was up to.

            “Is this where you wanted to take me?”

            “Yeah, though you _did_ pick out the perfect spot.”

            “For what?” she asked, still trailing after their adventurous child.

            “This!”

            She turned in time to see a red-and-white checked cloth flutter dramatically in the breeze before Takashi lowered it to the grass. Or it would have been the grass if Alfor hadn’t run over to be exactly underneath it.

            She laughed and fished him out, tossing him in the sky as Takashi fussed over the cloth. He was busy pulling out rocks from beneath it and occasionally tossing them on one corner or another. “I’d help if I understood what you were doing,” she told him.

            “Don’t worry, I got this.”

            Alfor began squirming again and so she set him down and they explored. He was very interested in some yellow flowers. “Takashi, what are these? Are they safe for him?”

            “Hm?” He looked up and then nodded as recognition lit his eyes. “Dandelions. They’re fine. His clothes might wind up a bit yellow though; the color can rub off onto things.”

            She decided that was an acceptable sacrifice if it came down to it, because Alfor was grabbing stems in his chubby hands and yanking them out of the ground determinedly. Each newly-picked dandelion was dutifully gifted to her, and then he was off after the next one.

            “Okay, come over here, you two!” Takashi called after a few doboshes.

            Allura scooped up Alfor just long enough to point him towards Takashi. “Let’s see what your father has for us, huh?”

            Alfor reached out a hand towards her, making a grasping motion. She gave him a few of the dandelions he’d picked and he ran towards Takashi and the red-and-white cloth, which now had a sleek, black-laquered box sitting on it.

            Takashi’s eyes widened and he dove forward just in time to catch Alfor as he tripped. “Hey there, buddy, what’ve you got?” he asked. Their son all but shoved the flowers at his father’s face, and Allura got to hear her beloved laugh. “Oh, thank you. But let’s go see what’s in the box. Are you hungry?”

            He shrieked in reply.

            “Do we… lay on the cloth?” she asked as she approached.

            “Sit,” Takashi told her. He demonstrated by sitting near the box. “And let’s see what we’ve got!” He set Alfor down and opened the box. “What’s this?” he asked with a gasp, pulling out a lidded container. He pulled the lid up just a little and steam rose out. He closed his eyes to smell. “Mmm. What do you think?” He handed it over to her.

            As soon as she had it in her hands, she could smell its contents. She practically tore the lid off. “Is this _fremkin_ soup?!” It was a rhetorical question: nothing else smelled like _fremkin_ did, and once she could see it, there was little doubt.

            Takashi pulled out a container of the crackers that were Alfor’s favorite and left them open for him to help himself to. The little boy grabbed one – shaped like a _yalmor_ – and shoved it (and his fingers) into his mouth, his other hand still holding onto the dandelions.

            Container after container came out of the box, each carrying a surprise more wonderful than the last: honeycakes and cream puffs, an assortment of small sandwiches, pretzels and hummus, a thermos of hot _elistrian_ tea and another of cold milk, along with a variety of berries and vegetables.

            “An outdoor meal?” she asked in happy astonishment.

            “We call it a ‘picnic,’” he told her. “And yes, of course I asked Hunk to make everything.”

            She laughed as she urged some broccoli on Alfor. He was at that age where he ate just about anything handed to him, thankfully.

            “Oh, and since Alfor picked all of these… Hey, kiddo, you want to see something? Allura, hand me the dandelions, would you?”

            She passed over the ones that Alfor wasn’t clutching for dear life, and Takashi started weaving and tying the stems together. Their son seemed fascinated, and he dropped the ones he was holding to try to get at what Takashi was doing.

            “Hold on, buddy. Here.” He gave him a strawberry.

            Alfor ate his berry and Allura drank some soup while they both watched him. Takashi occasionally paused to give Alfor another distraction to eat, but otherwise kept it up until he had a wreath of dandelions. He pushed himself up to crawl across the blanket, grinning, and set it upon her head. “My princess,” he intoned.

            She laughed. “I haven’t been a princess for a long time now, Takashi; you know that.” But she thanked him with a kiss. It might have been a longer one if Alfor weren’t trying to get at the flower crown she was wearing.

            She relinquished it to him and let him cart it about. Takashi settled in next to Allura.

            “Let’s eat while we can, hm?”

 

 

            It took two vargas for trouble to catch up with them. When the royal guard found them, Allura was stretched out on the blanket, her head pillowed on Takashi’s lap, Alfor curled up next to her, napping with the (slightly-mushed) flower crown still in his hands. Takashi was bending over her, softly whispering sweet nothings to her so as not to disturb the sleeping toddler. They both looked over as the commander stormed up to them.

            “Oh, Commander Parkington. Isn’t it a lovely day?” she asked pleasantly.

            He dropped to one knee. “Your Majesty, what are you _doing_ out here?! You know the protocols! You are not to be out of the castle without _at least_ three members of the royal guard, five to six when you have your son with you!”

            “I have the Prince-Consort with me,” she replied lazily, snuggling determinedly against Takashi’s thigh.

            “With all due respect to His Royal Highness…” Parkington began.

            She cut him off, letting her tone get a bit curt. _This **was** a lovely day, until you showed up._ “If there had been trouble, the Black Lion would come for us. And there is no trouble, as you can see.”

            “We probably should go back,” Takashi murmured regretfully.

            She sighed and looked up at him pleadingly. “Can we return some time?”

            “With your proper escort,” Parkington put in, rising to his feet again.

            “We’ll see.” Takashi was grinning, and she mirrored it back to him.

            The commander let her tend to Alfor, the heir apparent to the Altean crown. He stirred and blinked blearily as he was buckled back into his harness. Parkington had brought an entire squad with him, and they made short work of packing up the picnic items.

            “I assume you’ll follow us back to the castle, sir?” Parkington said sternly as Takashi got back on the hoverbike.

            “Do you now?” he replied, and, as soon as Allura was on, he revved the engine and took off into the sky again, nearly clipping the canopy of the tree they’d been parked under.

            Allura laughed at hearing Parkington’s annoyed cry, but they were clearly headed back to the city, back to her responsibilities as queen, so she didn’t see how he could be _that_ upset. They’d be back at the castle before he and his squad would be, in fact.

_I definitely like these picnics_ , she thought as she wrapped her arms around Takashi and watched the countryside speed past beneath and around them.


End file.
